Lens Suggestions for SL2

[LoveMyLeica]

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Hi!

I'm new to Leica and to the forum. I just purchased a beautiful SL2! I'm very excited to get started. I'm just starting out and I'm hoping I can find some advice/direction from this forum.

I'm interested in storytelling, street, light/shadow, and "dreamy" bokeh. Wanting a lens that will provide something similar to the vibe of the Q3 - depth, emotional, soulful. 
Considering I'm just getting into photography, I'm assuming I'd be better off with a lens that supports auto-focus.

My budget for my first lens is around $1k or less.

Thanks in advance for any recommendations/advice you may have!

[Olaf_ZG]

Your budget rules out Leica, which leaves you with panasonic or sigma. Both are available plenty secondhand, so you might even be able to buy two lenses.

The sigma 45mm is a very special lens, totally different wide open than closed down, read some reviews and you will understand. Next to that you could add a zoom from Panasonic, fe the 24-105 or the 20-60.

[costa43]

Congratulations! The Sigma Contemporary range of lenses are your best friends in this scenario. Small, sharp and nice looking! Pick the focal length you enjoy the most and go for it! One caveat that may or may not be important to you is that the Contemporary range are only semi weather sealed though, just at the mount, reassuring for camera protection but the barrel of the lens will be a little more exposed in adverse weather. If you want something more robust then Panasonic and Sigma have a fair few options for you in both zoom and primes. You may have to buy used to maximise budget depending on how fast you want the lens to be.
 

Edit: If you want faster glass moving forward then manual lenses adapted are a nice option for the budget and keep the size down. 

Edited June 14 by costa43

[BernardC]

Sigma's 45mm is quite special, but I would also look at the Lumix (Panasonic) 1.8 series of lenses. $1,000 will get you two from this series, depending on currency (I assume USD) and current deals.

Panasonic's new 24-60 zoom is also under $1,000, and you might find "used in box" copies because it's a kit lens.

[jaapv]

17 hours ago, LoveMyLeica said:

Hi!

I'm new to Leica and to the forum. I just purchased a beautiful SL2! I'm very excited to get started. I'm just starting out and I'm hoping I can find some advice/direction from this forum.

I'm interested in storytelling, street, light/shadow, and "dreamy" bokeh. Wanting a lens that will provide something similar to the vibe of the Q3 - depth, emotional, soulful. 
Considering I'm just getting into photography, I'm assuming I'd be better off with a lens that supports auto-focus.

My budget for my first lens is around $1k or less.

Thanks in advance for any recommendations/advice you may have!

Your budget puts you in market for Sigma’s 28-70, which is a very useful solid general workhorse, with an image quality that is good enough for Leica to bring out a luxury version under their own name. 

[LoveMyLeica]

Thanks, everyone, for the suggestions! Any experience with Voigtlander? I've read several reviews that say they are very special "magical" lenses.
I just purchased the Voigtlander 50mm 1.2. Although it's a manual focus, it's known for its creamy, beautiful bokeh. I'm super excited to try it!

[wattsy]

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On 6/14/2025 at 12:56 AM, LoveMyLeica said:

depth, emotional, soulful.

These characteristics will largely come from what you put in front of the camera – the subject, light, composition, expressions, etc. – rather than the lens you put on it but, that point aside, I think you are right to explore manual focus M mount options and I'm sure the Voigtländer lens you have chosen will be a good start. The modern AF lenses from Sigma and Panasonic are very impressive (and excellent value) but they are not "magical" in the way I think you are hoping for and you will have to work that bit harder to get the "dreamy" look you desire.